Syria: Another “Chemical Attack” on the Horizon?

Civil sources in the Syrian city of Idleb revealed the arrival of the notorious White Helmets group in the town of Ariha, located in the southern countryside of Idleb.

According to the sources, a number of civilians were recently taken from the town of Saraqib to the town of Ariha. They were reportedly accompanied by a crew of one of the Arab satellite channels, apparently to prepare for a new provocation, similar to the alleged chemical attack on Khan Sheikhun, a town in Idleb province and which took place on the 4th of April.

In an interview with the Russian agency Sputnik on April 21st, Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, said the incident of Khan Sheikhoun is a fabricated play, intended to justify the US strikes on Syrian military installations. He also pointed out that western countries, United States including, are deliberately preventing any prompt and thorough investigation into the events by independent experts, saying they are too afraid to be confronted with the truth.

Previously, Alexander Vasilievich Shulgin, Russia’s permanent representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, said that “the story of a chemical attack in Khan Sheikhoun, Idleb, made a rather cinematic move through the meeting of the Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons”.

An official spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry also stressed the use of Sarin in Khan Sheikhoun raises many questions as one of the White Helmets’ broadcast materials shows a man with a cigarette in his mouth at the alleged scene of attack.

For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin, said that only the two narratives are possible: either the warehouses, storing chemicals and belonging to the terrorists, were hit by the Syrian Air Force or that the whole thing is completely fabricated.

The events of Khan Shiekhoun also triggered attention of Israel that has since raised its “concerns” regarding the matter. Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu said the “terrible scenes from Syria must haven shaken every human being”, while the head Israeli of the opposition called the US president Donald Trump “the leader of the free world who has adopted firm and effective policy to defend the innocent.”

Analysts compared the pretext for the Iraqi invasion to Khan Shaikhoun incident and noted many similar attempts and techniques of propaganda and distortion.

No evidence that the Syrian forces ever used Sarin or any other chemicals was ever provided, however, on the 7th of April the US carried out a missile strike against Syria in a response to alleged chemical attack and fired 59 tomahawks towards the Sharyat Air Base. Only 23 tomahawks reached their targets, the rest got intercepted. 6 soldiers and 9 civilians, 4 children including, died as a result of the US aggression.